Taishi armchair

Introduction

One special armchair among the classic furniture of ancient China, named after an official title, is the Tiashi (the prince’s teacher) Armchair. It emerged during the Northern Song dynasty. There are many ancient records and descriptions about it.

The Taishi Armchair can best demonstrate the characteristics of furniture of the Qing dynasty. It is big and wide, with its back and arms connected together to form a folding screen. The original form of the Taishi Armchair was just like a folding chair. It became a chair with arms in the Qing dynasty and played a very important role in people’s daily lives.

Origin

In the Song Dynasty

The earliest record of Taishi Armchairs can be seen in Zhang Ruiyi’s book. It says that one day, Tiashi Qin Hui rested on a chair, and his head cloth fell onto the ground when he erected his head. His subordinates saw that and asked craftsmen to make a lotus leaf-shaped wooden screen and set it on the chair to support his head. Thus, this kind of armchair came into being. Its function of supporting heads is like the function of headrests in cars and planes.

In the Ming Dynasty

In the Ming Dynasty, the name “Taishi Armchair” was still popular. But the object itself changed a lot. It no longer referred to the folding chair with a screen that can support one’s head; it referred to the round-backed armchair.